“Farmers should be turned into entrepreneurs,” says Karnataka Bank CEO

According to Mahabaleshwara MS, Managing Director and CEO of Karnataka Bank, banks are tasked with transforming traditional farmers into modern entrepreneurs and this transformation provides banks with abundant lending opportunities.

He told attendees at the bank’s agri-business conference that farmers should adopt modern farming tools and practices with an innovative approach.

Precision farming and the use of drones have advanced to the forefront of modern farming practices. This improves food accessibility, increases supply and ensures sustainability. He stated that food and agricultural processing as well as agricultural infrastructure are critical in modern agriculture, especially for perishable goods.

According to Mahabaleshwara, the need of the hour is to stay abreast of market information, be better prepared for natural calamities and practice hi-tech farming. Banks should be proactive in providing credit support in this regard.

“KBL AgriNxt is introduced as part of our Transformation Wave – 2.0 ‘KBL NxT’, an advanced digital initiative.” “The bank is looking at ways to participate in the emerging digital disruption in agriculture by partnering with agri-fintech companies,” he said.

Karnataka Bank has been supporting priority lending initiatives focused on agriculture since its inception. The bank offers farmer-friendly credit products that are regularly updated to meet market demands. Farmers should take advantage of the agricultural bank’s credit products, he says.

Agriculture officers in the bank play an important role and should be sensitive to understanding the needs of farmers on the ground by providing timely credit, he added.

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First published on: 09 Jul 2022, 07:38 IST